The Amen Corner Play Review: Analysis and Interpretation

This report is a review of James Baldwin's play, "The Amen Corner," focusing on its themes, characters, and stage performance. The play, set in a Harlem church and a pastor's apartment, explores the conflicts between secular and religious life. The review includes an introduction, summary, description, interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of the play, adhering to MLA format. The story revolves around Margaret Anderson, a pastor, and the unexpected arrival of her estranged husband, Luke, leading to confrontations about religious hypocrisy and family dynamics. The play examines the role of the church in the African American family, the relationship between earthly love and religion, and the impact of racial prejudice on the community. The review analyzes the use of music genres like jazz and church music to reinforce the play's themes, the impact of key events, and the characters' motivations. The report follows the guidelines for a play review, providing a well-structured analysis of the play's strengths, weaknesses, and overall impact.

Running head: AMEN CORNER REVIEW
Amen Corner Review
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1AMEN CORNER REVIEW
The Amen Corner is the first-ever dramatic play by the much-celebrated playwright,
essayist and novelist, who is African-American, James Baldwin, who had written the play during
the year of 1950 (Gale). The play performed first on the professional stage in the year 1965 and
the year 1968, the play was published first.
The Amen Corner is placed in the two settings such as the corner, the church in the
Harlem and the Margaret Anderson's dwelling apartment, the pastor of the church and Margaret's
son David and her sister Odessa. After providing the fiery Sunday sermon of the morning, the
lady Margaret has faced the unexpected arrival of her husband, Luke, who is long estranged. He
collapsed shortly from the illness thereafter. From Luke, their son David and few numbers of
elder's congregation have learned that, while their mother Margaret has led every person for
believing that their father had broken the relationship with their mother with them many years
ago (Turner, Susan Watson). This was in the fact of Margaret, who left her husband, Luke, for
pursuing the purely religious life with her children. This information, which caused the
confrontations among the lady Margaret, David her son, her husband Luke and her congregation
about the factors they had seen in the hypocritical nature of the convictions of the religions that
Margaret has used for justifying the breakup of the family (Johnson, Autumn, et al.). After the
important conversation with his father, who was dying, David had informed his mother,
Margaret that he wanted to leave home for pursuing the calling as the jazz musician. On the
deathbed, his father Luke had declared to his mother Margaret that he loved her always and she
should not even leave him. Eventually, the congregation of Margaret had decided for ousting her,
which was based on the perception, which she ruined unjustly the own family in the religion
name. After losing her son David, her husband Luke and her congregation, the lady Margaret had
realized that she never should use the religion as the excuse for escaping the struggle of love and

2AMEN CORNER REVIEW
life. However, she realized that for loving God, she must love her children and everyone and
rejoice with everyone and suffer with them as well, and she should have never count the cost.
The main theme of this play was the difference between secular and religious that was
reinforced by a couple of different genres of music, such as jazz and Church music.
In Harlem, in the middle of 1990, the music genres played a vital role in the experience
of African-American while jazz music was melancholy for verbalizing and understanding the
racism and inequality that was felt by the people of African Americans, Church music in this
play was used for advancing and highlighting the teachings and ideas of Jesus.
The play Amen Corner answered the themes of the church role in the family of African
America, the relationship between the earthy love and religion and the poverty effect born of the
prejudice of the racial on the community of African American.

3AMEN CORNER REVIEW
References
Chambers, Claire Maria. "The Playwright as Negative Theologian: James Baldwin’s The Amen
Corner and Blues for Mister Charlie." Performance Studies and Negative Epistemology.
Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2017. 163-208.
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for James Baldwin's" The Amen Corner". Gale,
Cengage Learning, 2016.
Johnson, Autumn, et al. "Henderson News 7.2." (2019).
Turner, Susan Watson. "Why Theater, Mr. Baldwin?: The Amen Corner and Blues for Mister
Charlie." James Baldwin. Brill Sense, 2014. 29-39.